Rodgers' service in the United States Navy extended through the
Quasi War with France, the
First Barbary War and the
Second Barbary War in
North Africa and through the
War of 1812. In 1815 he was appointed to the Board of Naval Commissioners, serving through the Second Barbary War until he retired in 1837.
Quasi War On March 8, 1798, President
John Adams appointed junior officers for the first three ships constructed for the young American Navy; Rodgers was appointed second lieutenant of the
frigate USS
Constellation, under the command of
Thomas Truxtun. All of these officers were expeditiously confirmed by the Senate the next day. Rodgers participated in the capture of the
French Navy frigate
''L'Insurgente during Constellation
s engagement, and he immediately was made prize master of the surrendered French vessel. Rodgers, along with Midshipman Porter and eleven seamen, boarded the badly damaged L'Insurgente
with the challenge of sailing her to a friendly port while also guarding more than 160 prisoners. That evening, gale-force winds separated the two ships, leaving Rodgers, Porter, and the few American seamen aboard the now-renamed Insurgent
to save the ship and to control the prisoners without support from the crew of Constellation
nearby. To make matters worse, just before surrendering their ship, the crew of L'Insurgente'' had thrown overboard the gratings to the hold along with handcuffs and other items used to secure prisoners. Greatly outnumbered, Rodgers had seized all weapons and ordered their prisoners to the
lower hold, giving orders to open fire with
blunderbusses should they try to breach the passageway from their hold. After guarding the prisoners and navigating the captured vessel for two days and three nights through stormy winter weather, Rodgers arrived at
Bassettere, the capital of the
British colony of
Saint Kitts, on February 13, 1799. Great Britain and France were
still at war, so the inhabitants of Bassettere were pleased to see a captured French vessel arriving in American hands. For the Americans' effort, a British commander in St. Kitts sent Truxtun a letter of congratulations and offered him every service within his command. The two ships were then refitted and supplied while
Insurgent received a new crew. On March 5, 1799, Rodgers was promoted to captain and received written orders to take command of the captured ship. In June 1799, Rodgers relinquished command of
Insurgent, then at
Norfolk, Virginia, receiving a letter from
Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert ordering him to Baltimore to supervise the outfitting of , a
sloop-of-war bearing 20 guns, and then to take command of that ship. Three months later
Maryland was commissioned under Rodgers' command. In March 1801, he delivered to France the ratified
Convention of 1800 (Treaty of Mortefontaine), which ended the
Quasi-War.
First Barbary War Placed in command of on May 3 of the following year, Rodgers was ordered to sail for
Tripoli to patrol its surrounding waters for three weeks, joining and , along with a number of other vessels. Upon his arrival he immediately approached the harbor fortifications of Tripoli and engaged the
gunboats and
batteries defending the city. During this time he also pursued and boarded several neutral ships that were attempting to bring grain and other supplies to Tripoli, the inhabitants of which were facing starvation and other difficulties because of the blockade. After twelve days
John Adams encountered the Tripolian vessel Meshboha, bearing 20 guns, which Rodgers engaged and captured. The Tripolian vessel previously had been blockaded at
Gibraltar and was carrying a load of military supplies to Tripoli. His brilliant record fighting the corsairs won Rodgers appointment as
commodore of the
Mediterranean Squadron in May 1805. Since Commodore
James Barron's health at this time had deteriorated, it was practically impossible for Barron to maintain command of the
squadron. Receiving a letter dispatched to him by on May 22, Rodgers assumed command of the squadron consisting of the ships
Constitution,
President,
Constellation, ,
Essex, , , , , , and , together with a number of gunboats (including
No. 5) and
bomb vessels. Rodgers was thus in command of the largest American squadron to assemble in the Mediterranean until the twentieth century. The blockading force was so overwhelming that, after much deliberation and appeals from the
Dey, a peace treaty with Tripoli was negotiated by the end of July. When news of the treaty reached
Washington D.C. in the fall of 1805, President
Thomas Jefferson ordered all of the ships home with the exception of a frigate and two smaller supporting vessels. Before returning home, Rodgers sailed to
Malta and
Syracuse to close down military hospitals and settle accounts. He stopped to pay a visit to the Dey of
Algiers, who had learned of the US treaty with Tripoli, and extended every courtesy to Rodgers, allowing him to be armed in his presence. In a letter to the Secretary of the Navy, Benjamin Stoddert, Rodgers later wrote "I am the first Christian that has ever been permitted to visit the Dey of Algiers with sidearms...."
Other service A year later, Rodgers returned to the United States to take command of the
New York Flotilla. After the
Embargo Act of 1807 against trade with the British Empire was passed by Congress at the close of 1807, Rodgers commanded operations along the Atlantic coast enforcing its provisions.
Torpedo test In 1810 Secretary of the Navy
Paul Hamilton instructed Commodore Rodgers to oversee a series of tests or trials of inventor
Robert Fulton's new naval
torpedo. Fulton had recently published
Torpedo War, and Submarine Explosions, in which he argued that his newly developed torpedo was practical, and cost efficient, and would soon make most naval vessels obsolete. Presidents Thomas Jefferson and
James Madison were intrigued by Fulton's idea and the
US Congress authorized $5,000 to test the new weapon. Rodgers thought Fulton's torpedo was a folly. Secretary Hamilton directed Rodgers to prepare "a plan of opposition." In reply, Rodgers promised Hamilton he "would not only prevent the application of any torpedoes which he has yet invented, but any which he will ever be able to invent…" On September 24, 1810, several thousand residents of New York City gathered on the banks of
Corlear's Hook overlooking the
East River to watch the widely publicized demonstration of a mock torpedo attack against the brig USS
Argus, commanded by Lieutenant
James Lawrence. Fulton, the successful inventor of the first commercially viable
steamboat,
Clermont, and the first practical submarine, , was confident that his torpedo could sink a large naval vessel. Rodgers and Lt. Lawrence quickly demonstrated that Fulton's torpedo was unable to penetrate the ship's defense. Fulton in a final report to Hamilton reluctantly conceded he could not penetrate Rodgers' defense. While Rodgers was vindicated, the two men held no rancor toward each other. During the
War of 1812 Fulton wrote Rodgers on September 14, 1814, to offer his service in defense of the port of Baltimore; before the letter arrived, the battle was over. At the outbreak of the War of 1812, the American navy was not prepared to deal with Britain's large and formidable navy, which consisted of hundreds of ships and seasoned commanders and crews, many of whom were already battle hardened by the
French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. In 1811, Rodgers was commodore of USS
President off
Annapolis when he heard that an American sailor had been
impressed by off
Sandy Hook,
New Jersey. Rodgers was ordered to sea to "protect American commerce", but he may have had verbal instructions to retaliate for the
Royal Navy's impressment of alleged British deserters from American vessels, which was causing much ill-feeling. Early in 1811, Secretary of the Navy Hamilton had ordered USS
President and USS
Argus on patrol duty along the Atlantic coast from the Carolinas to New York. Rodgers was in command of the frigate
President off the coast of
North Carolina. On May 16, 1811, he sighted and followed the British sloop , commanded by
Arthur Bingham, thinking it to be HMS
Guerriere.
Very different versions of events were given on either side. A gun was fired, with each side accusing the other of the first shot. Rodgers continued to engage the much smaller vessel and the
President, bearing 44 guns, cut to pieces
Little Belt, with only 20 guns.
Little Belt lost 13 men killed, including a midshipman and a lieutenant, and 19 wounded, while
President incurred only one wounded. The incident came to be known as the
Little Belt affair. It was one among many incidents between the United States and Britain that led to the War of 1812.
War of 1812 When the United States declared war against the
United Kingdom on June 18, 1812, many American ships lacked crews and were in need of repairs, while others were still away at sea.
President passed
Sandy Hook on June 21. In the early morning of June 23, a ship was spotted on the horizon to the north-east, which turned out to be the frigate , commanded by Captain
Richard Byron. Rodgers immediately gave chase, with
Congress following close behind.
Belvidera had already been informed of the inevitability of war by a passing New York
pilot boat and immediately turned about, crowded on all sails and began flight to the north-east with a fresh wind behind all ships coming from the west. USS
President was an unusually fast frigate and by noon had gained on
Belvidera, now some two and a half miles distant, approximately 75 miles south-west of
Nantucket island. While
President was closing with
Belvidera, Captain Byron began clearing the decks and made ready his stern guns. By 4:30 the wind had relaxed some but
Belvidera was now close enough to be engaged. Seizing this first possibility,
Presidents forecastle
bow chasers fired the first shot of the war, by Rodgers himself, with two more almost immediately following. All three shots struck
Belvidera at her stern, striking the rudder assembly and captain's quarters, killing or wounding nine men. With only a few more shots needed to disable the British vessel,
President fired again. But the tide of battle turned when one of its guns burst, killing 16 men, and wounding others, including Rodgers, whose leg was broken. There was a pause of panic about the entire ship, as now every gun was suspected. Byron fired his stern chasers, killing another six men.
Belvidera continued to fire, damaging the rigging and foresails.
President continued chase, but without adequate foresails, began yawing and losing ground.
Belvidera escaped and returned to
Halifax, Nova Scotia, carrying the news of the declaration of war. Rodgers' home town of Havre de Grace was
raided by British forces led by
George Cockburn in 1813. Cockburn's men sacked and burned Rodgers's home, while Rodgers's mother, wife, and two sisters fled to a friend's house near Havre de Grace. British forces eventually reached this house, too and were under orders to burn it and others in the area. Rodgers' sister, Mrs. Goldsborough, pleaded with the officer in charge of the detail, begging him to prevent the burning of their house for the sake of their aging mother. The officer maintained that he was under strict orders and would have to obtain the consent of his commanding officer, whereupon Mrs. Goldsborough returned with the officer to again plead her case. The commanding officer agreed to spare the house, but by the time they had returned, it had already been set ablaze. However, the fire had not yet taken hold and upon hearing the news that the house was to be spared, the British saved the house from complete ruin. In April 1814, Rodgers returned to Havre de Grace, where he received orders to take command of at
Philadelphia, bearing 53 guns. Early in May of that year, he had replaced Commodore
Alexander Murray, as commander of the
Delaware squadron. Rodgers ordered
Lieutenant Charles Morgan to take charge of the squadron to reorganize it, instructing him about outfitting the ships with armament and drilling the crew. On June 20, 1814,
Guerriere was launched with a crew of 200 men, while more than 50,000 spectators gathered on the shores of the
Delaware River and in small boats to witness this. During that summer Rodgers spent most of his time at
Philadelphia's naval yard outfitting this ship. The Delaware squadron comprised some 20 gunboats, sloops and
galleys, and was one among several fleets assigned to patrol the chief ports along the upper Atlantic coastline.
Burning of Washington in 1814 Commodore John Rodgers played a major role in the reoccupation of Washington after it had been
captured by British in 1814. As a naval officer he was generally unfamiliar with the tactics and deployments of land battle, yet he restored order after the occupation of Washington and he coordinated orders from Secretary of the Navy
William Jones for the employment of marines and sailors as naval infantry. Along with ground forces under his two principal subordinates, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry and Commodore
David Porter, Rodgers' flotilla of ships on the
Potomac River forced the British to retreat. In the summer of 1814, American naval forces in the Chesapeake Bay consisted mainly of a fleet of gunboats under the command of Commodore
Joshua Barney, a veteran of the American Revolution. On August 20, a British fleet commanded by Cockburn sailed up the
Patuxent River searching for Barney's flotilla while British troops marched in the same direction along its shore. Secretary of the Navy Jones responded by ordering Commodore Rodgers in Philadelphia and Commodore Porter in New York to proceed towards Washington with several detachments of sailors and marines. The orders were dispatched by mail but did not reach Philadelphia until ten o'clock the morning of the 22nd. As Rodgers was at
Reedy Island on the Delaware River inspecting his flotilla he did not receive the Secretary's orders until he returned at eleven o'clock that evening—-thirteen hours later. Upon receiving the dispatch Rodgers immediately made preparations to march towards Baltimore. Secretary Jones, not knowing that his initial orders had reached Rodgers later than he had anticipated, expected Rodgers to be at his designated station by the evening of the 23rd, and had sent him follow up orders that morning directing Rodgers to
Bladensburg, Maryland, north-east of Washington. Consequently, Rodgers did not receive his orders until it was too late to execute them. With American forces defeated and in retreat, President James Madison and Secretary Jones had fled the capital and made their way up the Potomac River to remain in hiding in the countryside. Rodgers proceeded to Baltimore, arriving on the 25th. The citizens there were in a panic fearing their city would suffer the same fate as had just befallen Washington. In the panic the Americans burned
Columbia and
Argus which were nearby, ready for service. Upon Rodgers' arrival he immediately took up preparing defensive measures about the area, the actions of which restored order among the citizenry; with the inhabitants' courage somewhat restored, Rodgers combined his command with that of Porter's and secured a small flotilla on the
Patapsco River, which flows south-east into Chesapeake Bay at Baltimore. With a force of some thousand sailors and marines Rodgers set up defenses about Baltimore, dividing this force into two regiments, one under the command of Porter, the other under the command of Oliver Hazard Perry, who already had been stationed in Baltimore. Rodgers was a prolific political writer whose thoughts appealed to President Madison, leading him, with the consent of the Senate, to appoint Rodgers to the Board of Navy Commissioners, along with
Isaac Hull and David Porter. Rodgers headed the Board from 1815 through 1824 and again from 1827 until he retired in May 1837. Rodgers also served briefly as Secretary of the Navy in 1823. The Board recommended Baltimore, Norfolk and
Charleston navy yards be closed. These recommendations were controversial and became the subject of considerable partisanship, with only Baltimore and Charleston eventually phased out of existence. The BNC final report was in fact, highly critical of the Washington Navy Yard and its business practices. Writing on 11 May 1815 to Commodore Thomas Tingey the BNC stated, "The Board are about contracting for the repairs of the Black Smith shop in the Navy Yard under your command for the purpose of employing workmen to put in order for service & a state of preservation ... It is the intention of the Board of the Navy Commissioners, to reestablish the Navy Yard at this place, as a building Yard only, & while stating to you this intention, it may not be improper for them to make you acquainted with their views generally with respect to the establishment. They have witnessed in many of our Navy Yards & this particularly pressure in the employment of characters unsuited for the public service – maimed & unmanageable slaves for the accommodation of distressed widows & orphans & indigent families - apprentices for the accommodation of their masters – & old men & children for the benefit of their families & parents . These practices must cease – none must be employed but for the advantage of the public, & this Yard instead of rendering the navy odious to the nation from the scenes of want & extravagance which it has too long exhibited must serve as a model on which to prefect a general system of economy. In making to you,- Sir, these remarks the Navy Commissioners are aware that you have with themselves long witnessed the evils of which they complain, & which every countenance will be given to assist you in remedying them, they calculate with confidence on a disposition on your part to forward the public interests." From November 1824 through May 1827, he commanded the
Mediterranean Squadron. After his final naval command, returned to New York where he became the Navy agent at the port there. ==Societies==